Fans of the outdoors can book to take part in a popular annual walking event later this year.

The 19th annual Malvern Walking Festival is scheduled to take place from Saturday, May 25 to Sunday, June 2, 2024.

The festival's website has opened for bookings, offering more than 70 walks over nine days.

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With choices aplenty, the walks happen in and around the Malvern Hills, a National Landscape, formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and further afield in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

The Malvern Hills were recently said to have the 'Best walks in the Midlands' by Which? magazine, acquiring a four-star rating for the walks and scenery.

The festival's programme offers walkers various themed options such as wartime Malvern, Malvern’s water, the area's history, and even beer and pubs, to name a few.

Festival chairman Bob Baldwin said: "The 2024 Festival is our biggest ever since we started in 2004 and we are now one of the biggest in southern England.

"Last year we sold-out and received dozens of letters from walkers saying how much they enjoyed Malvern and the surrounds.

"But we also received too many letters from walkers saying how disappointed they were not to be able to book onto their chosen ramble as it was sold out. I therefore urge everybody to book early to save being disappointed."

He added: "We’re also pleased to confirm that we will again be supporting the Worcester Air Ambulance charity, although of course we sincerely hope we will have no need of their services anytime soon."

Walks are graded from gentle to strenuous, ranging from three mile walks to challenging 31-mile routes.

Bookings and further information can be found on the festival website (www.malvernwalking.uk), or at tourist information centres in Malvern, Upton-upon-Severn, or Tenbury Wells.